What is a Muster Station?

A muster station - also called an assembly station - is the designated place on board a ship where passengers and crew gather when the general emergency alarm sounds. It is where people are counted, receive lifejackets and instructions, and wait for the order to proceed to the lifeboats or back to normal duties.

What happens at a muster station?

SOLAS requires a muster list to be posted in conspicuous places throughout the ship: it specifies the emergency actions for everyone on board and assigns each crew member an emergency duty. Passengers are directed to their assembly station by the emergency instructions displayed in cabins and passenger spaces. During a passenger muster or an abandon-ship drill, passengers assemble at their station, are counted against the manifest, don lifejackets and are briefed on the escape routes to the survival craft. In a real emergency the muster station is the collection point from which an evacuation is organised - which is why it must be reachable and recognisable even in smoke, darkness or a blackout.

The muster station symbol

The muster station is marked with a standardised symbol: a group of four figures inside a green square (green is the safe-condition colour on safety signs). The current symbol is defined by IMO Resolution A.1116(30) and registered as ISO 7010 E032; suppliers also index it under IMPA code 33.4141 and ISSA code 47.541.41. On ships the sign is typically photoluminescent, so the assembly point stays visible when the lighting fails.

Muster station signage on board

A-SPE manufactures the muster-station signs as MED-certified photoluminescent IMO signs: the muster station sign with text and directional variants such as the muster station sign with arrow. The cluster is completed by the muster list symbol for fire control plans and the emergency muster list poster (printed on self-adhesive white vinyl). The complete range of escape-route signage is in the Means of Escape section of the IMO signs catalogue.